Meet Our Guides

Kaila is super excited to be joining Journey Quest again for a second summer! She grew up in Arizona while visiting Montana often. She has always loved the outdoors and is eager to share God’s beautiful creation with other people! Kaila attends Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she’s majoring in Missionary Aviation while competing in basketball and track. Her long term goal is to work for a heliskiing company as a pilot while also doing some skiing herself. Outside of school, Kaila loves anything active or adrenaline-filled including basketball, skiing, volleyball, surfing, track, and videography. This summer, she desires to get to know God on a deeper level, take on challenges while learning new things, and cultivate meaningful relationships. Kaila is looking forward to seeing how God moves through the Journey Quest community and continues to grow her this summer!

Brogan is from Kalispell, Montana, and is stoked to be on staff with Journey Quest for his second year! He loves the outdoors and is super exited to share the gospel and have deep conversations with guests. As the summer approaches, Brogan is is finishing his first year at Grand Canyon University where he is working toward his major in Education. Brogan cannot wait to see what God has in store for the summer and beyond!

Strider Aston is from Gilbert, Arizona, where he grew up as the oldest of 5 kids. He is currently a student at Grand Canyon University, majoring in Christian Studies with an emphasis on Philosophy. He is also a Division I javelin thrower for the GCU Track and Field Team. Growing up, he spent a lot of time skiing and mountaineering in Montana. After high school he served as a volunteer missionary for 6 months with YWAM in New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji. In his free time he enjoys reading, playing worship on guitar, and learning new tricks on his Kendama. He loves spending time with his friends and family and getting into all kinds of mischief with his brothers and cousins especially. This is his third year at Journey Quest, and he hopes to grow in both his relationship with Christ as well as with guests, guides, and those he encounters on the river alike. He is extremely excited to see how God continues to move both on and off the river this summer.

This is Phoenix’s second summer at Journey Quest!! He’s originally from Oklahoma but lived most of his life in Texas until moving to Cañon City this spring. He graduated high school from Aledo High School (Aledo, TX) in 2024 and was very active in FFA showing cattle. He’s enrolled at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado, where he is pursuing an Associates Degree in Outdoor Recreation Leadership. Phoenix is very excited about rafting and the challenges that it will present. Before coming to Journey Quest, He was a backpacking guide for two summers here in Colorado and has climbed several of Colorado’s 14ers! He absolutely loves being outdoors and being in God’s creation. Phoenix is excited to share that love with the groups he comes in contact with through Journey Quest. He loves the Lord and helping others see the beauty He has given us through the great outdoors. He really enjoys helping people realize they can do more than they think they can. It’s all about the mental game. Most of us want to give up on a challenge sooner than we should. Don’t give up, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and you will be surprised what you can do! “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) Phoenix can’t wait to see what this summer has to offer!

Mercy loves being outdoors!  She did her first rafting trip through Journey Quest when she was 12 years old, and that was when guiding for them became a dream of hers! Now, 6 years later, she’s excited that God has blessed her with the opportunity to work here! Mercy grew up in Gretna, Nebraska as the second oldest of 7 kids. She is a rising sophomore at Regent University, where she is majoring in biophysical sciences with a pre-med focus. She’s currently thinking about attending medical school after graduating, but there’s nothing she’d love more than being a wife and mom! In her free time, Mercy loves going to the beach, baking, painting, reading, listening to music, game nights, hiking, swimming, rock climbing, and spending time with her friends and family. She looks forward to falling more in love with Jesus and getting to know each of you this summer!

Sophie grew up in beautiful Buffalo Wyoming and has now moved to Tulsa Oklahoma to study mechanical engineering at Oral Roberts University hoping to one day be able to design sports cars! She also competes as a jumper in NCAA division 1 track and field for ORU. Growing up in Wyoming has allowed Sophie to spend her free time growing up in the mountains hiking, fishing, whitewater rafting, hunting, and skiing. She loves to use music to worship Jesus and serve him wherever God places her. She is very passionate about Jesus and what he has done in her life and cannot wait to see how Jesus moves at Journey Quest!

Gillian is beyond excited to return for her third season at Journey Quest! Since her first time whitewater rafting, Gillian has dreamed of being a guide. She’s so excited to have the opportunity to be on the water while pointing people toward the Living Water. She is from Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she studies nursing at Cornerstone University. After she finishes nursing school, her dream is that God will open doors to allow her to go into medical missions. Gillian loves spending time with friends and family doing anything active in God’s beautiful creation! This summer she is excited for God to grow her in spiritual leadership and teach her how to completely rely on Him in every circumstance. Gillian cannot wait to spend time enjoying creation and building relationships with guests and other guides!